Door fixture



Nov. 4, 1941. IF. LA MERE noon FIXTURE Filed Oct. 31", 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l' IN VEN TOR.

I Ffimvx L /1 MERE BY fi/m 6 A TTORNEY mhm Mm u v w Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE noon FIXTURE Frank La Mere, Minneapolis, Minn." Application October a1, 1933, Serial No; 237,797- 7 Claims. 101192-92) My invention relates to door fastenings and to operating means therefor.

An object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple means for operating a door latch from either side of a door.

Another object of my invention is to provide a unitary means for causing locking and unlocking of a bolt, unlocking of a latch, for holding a door in partially opened position, for reclosing an opened door and for acting as a check against too sudden opening or closing of a door.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bolt and latch actuating means extendible across substantially the entire width of a door at the inside thereof and a latch-actuating means extendible across substantially the entire width of a door at the outside thereof, both .Another object of a relatively simple means for holding a door in a partially opened position, said means being actuable from the inside only of a door.

Other objects of my invention will either be clearly apparent from a description of that form of my invention now preferred by me or will be pointed out in the course of such description and will be set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a view partially in plan and partially in horizontal section, of a door fixture embodying my invention and shown as applied to a door,

Fig. 2 is a view, in front elevation, of that part of my device mounted on the inside of a door,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View, in end elevation according to the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4= is a view, in lateral section, showing particularly a door-holding gripping plate and the adjacent and surrounding tubes, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section of a rod and tube structure showing the door-holding means.

Fig. 6 is a view showing the internal construction of the lockconstituting a part of my invention, with the cover plate removed, and,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view showing a latch and taken on the line 1-! of Fig. 6.

The main parts of the device embodying my invention are a lock II, a view of the interior of which is shown in Fig. 6, an outside actuating member [3 and an my invention is to provide v i not shown in the the latter'two being shown more particularly in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The lock II is provided with a casing IT and a front plate I9 together with a cover which is drawings since it is of the usual kind employed in looks which are countersunk in the body of a"wolodenidoor with the front plate l9 substantially flush with the swinging edge of the door. The lock includes a bolt 2|, the outer end of which is guided in an opening in plate l9 and, the inner end of which is pivotally connected to the upper end of a bell crank lever 23 which is pivotally mounted in the lock as at 25. The vertically extending leg of lever 23 may be made slightly longer than the substantially horizontally extending leg thereof in order that any movement of the outer end of the horizontal arm shall be somewhat magnified. The bolt 2| is yieldingly biased tounlocked position as by the cooperation of a leaf spring having a bent portion 28 normally fitting into Both casing l1 and its cover are providedwith registering openings 3| therein, which openings are of substantially rectangular outline but with their lower left hand pivotally mount-ed in suitable bearings within the look by a pivot pin 35. A biasing spring 37 has a portion thereof wound around a fixed projection 39, one end engaging and abutting inside actuating member [5,

against the lower wall of other end thereof being so into the latch 33 to locking position.

the casing and the shaped as to extend to thereby yieldingly bias it lever 4| mounted inside the casing l7 and pivotally supported at 43 and a connecting rod or link 45 extending between the upper end of bell crank lever 4| and an inner perforated wall 41 upper arm of bell crank lever 4 I provide further a member 53 of flat channel or U-shape which is adapted to move vertically upwardly or downwardly, walls 55 and 56 being provided to guide the member 53 when it is moved as will be hereinafter set forth.

The outside actuating member I3 comprises two sections of tubular members 51 and 59, each of which has a relatively long portion extending parallel to and spaced from the outside of a door and a shorter portion which is numbered SI for tube 51, this shorter portion being pivotally connected with a pivot plate member 63 adapted to be screwed against the outside of a door adjacent to the hinged edge thereof. Tube 59 is provided with a short portion 65 bent at sub- .stantially right portion being pivotally mounted in and supported by a pivot plate member 61 adapted to be screwed against the outside of a door adjacent to the swinging edge thereof. The end 65 is provided with an inwardly extending finger 69 which finger extends into the lock hereinbefore described through one of the openings 3I thereof. It will be noted that portions 51 and 59 telescope each other and thelengths of these portions are such that the length ofthis actuating member can be varied if desired to adapt it to doors of diiferent widths. Any suitable means (not shown) may be used to hold the tubes in their normal position. r

The two sides of a door jaimb are indicated at II and 13 respectively and the door itself is indicated by numeral 15; the hinges being indicated by 11 in Fig. l of the drawings. I have shown the door 15 as being a-so-called storm doorand provided. with an'inner1frame'19 having one or more panes of glass 8| therein. The device embodying my invention is not limited to such doors, but isapplicable to any door.

The inside actuating member LI includes a hinge member 83, adapted to be screwed against the inside of door jamb 1I. If desired the part of hinge member 83 engaging the door jamb may be made such that it will act as its own gauge, by aligning the outer edge thereof with the Outer edge of the jamb 1|. A rod 85 has one'end pivotally connected. to the hinge .member- 83 and extends into a plurality of coaxial nested tubes 81, 89, and SI. .Tube 81 is relatively short and has a circularly depressed portion or groove .93 therein intermediate its ends. It telescopes with one end of tube 89, the left hand end of which is turned-inwardly as shown at 95 in Fig. l of the drawings, whereby relative rotary or turning movement of tubes 81 and B9 is permitted, but no relative axial movement of the two tubes is permitted. i I I The outermost tube 9| has a short end portion 91, whichend portion is pivotally mounted on a pivot plate 99, and has a finger I9I extending through one side of the door and into the lock assembly. It will be noted that the plural tube and rod structure may move pivotally relatively to the member 83 in a substantially horizontal plane, while the right hand end of the tube structure may move pivotally in a vertical direction as will be hereinafter set forth in' greater detail;- Any desired means, either spring or'friction, may be provided in thepivot plate 99 to hold the tube in its normal intermediate position,

The right hand end of intermediate tube 89 is provided with a disc I93 fitting therein in an airtight 'mannerfmeans being provided in the shape of an opening therein and an adjusting screw I95 whereby tovary the size of the opening; The right hand end (as seen in Fig. l of the drawings) of rod 85 has mounted thereon apiston washer I91 together with supporting discs to substantially airtight manner in tube 89 just angles thereto, this short end-- beyond the right hand end of tube 81. This part of the inside actuator is shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 5 of the drawings from which it will be noted that disc I99 may be held in position between two grooves III and H3 rolled into intermediate tube 89.

A compression spring II5 surrounds rod and extends between piston washer I91 and disc I99. It will be noted, from Fig, 1 of the drawings, that the diameter of the coils of spring H5 is greater at one end thereof than at the other end thereof to provide different degrees of resiliency in the different portions of the spring. Thus on opening the door and compressing the spring the greater portion of the spring having coils of the larger diameter will be compressed first and when these turns engage each other, or nearly so, that end of the spring having coils of the smaller diameterywill be compressed.

I provide also a' bypass H1 in the form'of a bent out portion in tube .89 in order to more quickly release the compressed air toward. the end of the closing movement of the door. It will be noted that the outer tube 9| is also provided witha bent-out portion to provide clearance for the bent out portion in tube 89 to facilitate assembly. Tube9| may be'slotted for a portion of its length to give access to screw I in any longitudinally adjusted position of tubes 89 and 91 as when'used on doors of different widths. It will be noted that piston washer I91 cooperates with disc ,I99'to act as a dashpot when opening the door and cooperateswith' disc. I93 to act as a dashpot when-the door is closing; The adjusting screw I95 in disc I93 permits of varying the dashpot effect obtained when the door is closing, Y

'The device embodying my invention provides also means for holding the-door in any desired partially open position. This means includes a rod gripping plate II9 positioned within tube 81 near its right hand end and near disc I99. Plate II-9 has two diametrally extending end portions I2I and I23 (see Fig. 4) which are bent angularly relatively to the main part of the plateand fit into elongated and angularly extending slots I25 in tube 81. Turning movement of plate II9 on rod 85 is prevented by a. pin I21 fitting tightly in disc I99 and loosely in an opening I28 in plate H9. The design and construction of the inner end of tube 81 and particularly of the slots I25 therein as well as-ofgripping plate II9 is'such that if tube 81 is manually turned through a small angle in either direction from its normal intermediate position, it will cause a tilting'movement of gripping plate .I I9 whereby it will jam on rod 85, gripping the same tightly and thereby preventingany axial movement of rod 85 rela- It is therefore only necessary to slightly turn tube 81 relatively to tube 89 t thereby hold the door in any desired partially open position. While I have shown the slots I25 of such length as to permit the plate M9 to grip .the rod 85 because of relative turning movement' in either direction, I may use shorter slots, one -wall of each of which is engaged by arms I2I and. I23 when in normal position, permitting relative turning movement of the two tubes in only one direction.

I It may here be noted that the design and construction of the outside actuating member I3 and its pivotal supports is such that the plural.

tube structure 51 and 59 can be moved in a vertically downward direction only. Reference to Fig. 6 of the drawings will show that extension 69 of tube 55 will then move upwardly, engaging the lower substantially horizontally extending arm of bell crank lever 4| to move it upwardly and cause inward or opening movement of latch 33. The design and construction of the inside door actuator I 5 is such that the right hand end thereof may be moved in a vertically upwardly direction or in a vertically downwardly direction. When the plural tube structure, and particularly that end portion thereof adjacent the swinging edge of the door is moved upwardly, the extension l! will move downwardly within the look I! engaging the outer end of the lower arm of bell crank lever 23, causing outward or closing movement of bolt 2|. It will be noted that even were the outside actuator member I3 so designed, constructed and mounted that its extension 69 could be moved downwardly the shoulder I29 in opening 3| would prevent its being moved down far enough to engage the horizontal arm of bell crank lever 23. Opening 3!, however, is made deep enough below finger l0! so that this member can be moved downwardly far enough to force the bell crank lever 23 to move bolt 2| outwardly to locking position.

If on the other hand inside actuator I5 is moved downwardly, finger HJI will be moved upwardly and engage the upper end portion of member 53 forcing it upwardly against the outer end of the lower arm of hell crank lever 4| while its lower end engages the outer end of the lower arm of bell crank lever 23, causing turning movement of both bell crank levers 23 and 4| in a counterclockwise direction (as seen in Fig. 6) to thereby cause unlocking movement of both the bolt and the latch at the same time.

The device embodying my invention thus provides a relatively simple door fixture having an outside actuator extendible in a substantially horizontal direction substantially across the entire width of and close to a door, which outside actuator is effective to cause unlocking movement of a latch by a simple downward pressure on any part of the actuator either at the swinging edge of the door or farther over toward the hinged edge of the door. If desired in certain cases, the outside actuator may be simplified and made in the shape of a thumb latch.

I provide also an inside actuator comprising a coaxial rod and plural tube structure in which the outer end of the rod is pivotally mounted on a door jamb adjacent the hinge edge of the door while the other end of the plural tube structure is pivotally mounted at the swinging edge of a door. This plural tube and rod structure serves not only to cause locking movement of a bolt when moved in an upwardly direction, but also to cause simultaneous unlocking movement of a bolt and a latch, when moved in a downwardly direction. It serves also as a dashpot means both when opening and when closing a door, also as a means to hold the door in any desired partially open position, provides a varying degree of resistance to the opening movement of the door and permits of reducing the dashpot effect when closing the door.

Both the outside and the inside actuator members may be easily and quickly adjusted for different widths of doors, this means being shown, for the inside actuator as including screws I3! extending through selected openings in tube 9| into tube 89.

I claim as my invention:

1. A door control apparatus for a swinging door comprising a latch, a movable latch operating member therefor, a pair of elongated juxtaposed members guided for longitudinal movement relative to one another, one of said elongated members being connected to said latch operating member and movable therewith, means for anchoring the other of said elongated members to the door frame, said last named means guiding said elongated members for movement conforming to the movement of the door and for movement conforming to the movement of the latch operating member, and means acting between said elongated members for controlling the relative longitudinal movement therebetween.

2. A door control apparatus for a vertical hung swinging door comprising a latch, an operating member for the latch movable in an up and down direction, a pair of elongated juxtaposed members extending crosswise of the door and guided for longitudinal movement relative to one another, one of said elongated members being connected to the latch operating member and being movable therewith, means for pivotally connecting said other elongated member to the door frame for swinging movement in conformity with the movement of the door, and means acting between said elongated members for controlling the relative longitudinal movement therebetween.

3. A door control apparatus for a vertical hung swinging door comprising a latch, an operating member for the latch movable in an up and down direction, a panic bar extending across the door, and constructed with two elongated parts guided for longitudinal movement relative to one another, one of said parts being connected to the latch operating member and being movable in an up and down direction therewith, means for pivotally connecting the other of said parts to the door frame, said means guiding said panic bar for movement conforming to the movement of the door and for movement in an up and down direction, and means acting between said parts of the panic bar for controlling the relative longitudinal movement therebetween.

4. A door control apparatus for a swinging door comprising a latch, a movable latch operating member therefor, a pair of elongated juxtaposed members guided for longitudinal movement relative to one another, one of said elongated members being connected to said latch operating member and movable therewith, means for anchoring the other ofsaid elongated members to the door frame, said last named means guiding said elongated members for movement conforming to the movement of the door and for movement conforming to the movement of the latch operating member, and door closing and check means acting between said elongated members for controlling the movement of the door.

5. A door control apparatus for a vertical hung swinging door comprising alatch, an operating member for the latch pivoted for swinging movement about a horizontal axis, a pair of elongated juxtaposed members extending crosswise of the door and guided for longitudinal movement relative to one another, one of said elongated members being connected to the latch operating member and being movable therewith, pivot means for pivotally connecting said other elongated member to the door frame for swinging movement about a vertical axis, and means acting between said elongated members for controlling the relative longitudinal movement therebetween.

6. A door control apparatus for a swinging door comprising a latch, a movable latch operating member therefor, an elongated tubular member extending transversely of the door and connected at one end to said latch operating member and movable therewith, another elongated member disposed partly Within said tubular member, means for anchoring said second named elongated member to the door frame, said last named means guiding said elongated members for movement conforming to the movement of the door and for movement conforming to the movement of the latch operating member, and a piston carried by said second named elongated member and movable within said tubular elongated member, said tubular elongated member having a partly closed end controlling relative movement between said elongated members in one direction.

7. A door control apparatus for a swinging door comprising a latch, a movable latch operating member therefor, an elongated tubular member extending transversely of the door and connected at one end to said latch operating member and movable therewith, another elongated member disposed partly within said tubular member, means for anchoring said second named elongated member to the door frame, said last named means guiding said elongated members for movement conforming to the movement of the door and for movement conforming to the movement of the latch operating member, and a piston carried by said second named elongated member and movable within said tubular elongated member, said tubular elongated member having a partly closed end controlling relative movement between said elongated members in one direction, and resilient means acting between said elongated members for procuring relative movement therebetween in such direction.

FRANK LA MERE. 

